UN deputy secretary‑general Amina Mohammed urges cities be empowered and financed to deliver SDGs

Deputy Secretary‑General Amina Mohammed told delegates at the United Nations midterm review of the New Urban Agenda that cities must be given the authority and resources to deliver the Sustainable Development Goals. "The sustainable development goals will be delivered at the local level or they'll not be delivered at all," she said, urging action to close growing gaps in housing, services and climate resilience.

Mohammed, speaking on behalf of the secretary‑general, framed three priorities for urban policy. First, she said, the SDGs must be implemented locally: "More than half of humanity already lives in urban areas, and by the middle of this century, nearly 70% will do so," she said, noting that where families cannot access affordable housing or essential services, inequality deepens and marginalized groups suffer disproportionately.

Her second point focused on pace and equity. Mohammed said urban growth is outpacing urban transformation: while countries and cities have made progress since Quito — strengthening national urban policies, planning systems and climate action — "progress is not keeping pace with the demand." She listed specific concerns: housing is becoming less affordable, informal settlements are expanding, and infrastructure and services are falling behind.

Third, Mohammed argued that cities need both authority and finance to respond to rapid growth and crises. "Many are still expected to do this without the money or the authority to act," she said, calling for better access to finance and for national and international partners to engage with local leaders rather than work around them. She also urged the use of clearer, disaggregated data and new technologies, including artificial intelligence, to target services without deepening exclusion.

Mohammed appealed for strengthened multilateral cooperation across the UN system, UN‑Habitat, resident coordinators, regional commissions and local governments, calling the "pact for the future" a reason to coordinate action across levels of government. She cited examples from recent forums — the World Urban Forum in Baku and the "Baku call to action" — and pointed to Nairobi's "waste to wealth" initiatives as models of partnerships that can scale.

Highlighting local leadership, Mohammed referenced New York's new mayor, Sohran Mamdani, as an advocate for healthier, more sustainable cities and quoted his aspiration for a city that "will finally love them back." She closed by saying the New Urban Agenda offers a clear horizon and urged closing the gap "city by city, community by community," then thanked delegates.

The remarks were followed by a brief procedural acknowledgement from the meeting moderator.